Steep conveyor installation and conveyor belt therefor



M y 1967 G. BECHTLOFF ETAL 3,319,776

STEEP CONVEYOR INSTALLATION AND CONVEYOR BELT THEREFOR Filed Dec. 23,1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 16, 1967 G. BECHTLOFF ETAL 3,319,776

STEEP CONVEYOR INSTALLATION AND CONVEYOR BELT THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Dec. 23, 1966 m otor United States Patent 4 Claims. (cl. 198-465)The present invention relates to a steep conveyor installation andconveyor belts therefor. Steep conveyor belt installations are knownwhich have two conveyor belts in face to face relationship while thosesides thereof which face each other are covered with layers of foammaterial for encasing the material to be conveyed at a steep angle.

According to one of these known installations intended for conveyingsolid articles, each of the articles is individually completely encasedby the yieldable foam material consisting of foam rubber. While anarrangement of this type works satisfactorily for solid articles, asealing problem has to be met when it is intended to convey bulk goodsor pourable goods as, for instance, sand. In an effort to solve thisproblem, it has been suggested to provide the foam rubbenequippedconveyor belts with marginal toothed strips and to arrange these beltsso that while the belts pass through the steep incline, the teeth ofsaid toothed strips engage each other in a manner similar to theengagement of slide fastener sections.

An arrangement of this type, however, has the drawback that bulk goodsget clamped between the teeth of said marginal strips so that a properseal cannot be obtained. Moreover, the said marginal strips frequentlycause disorders at the top station where said strips are deviated.

Another possibility of preventing bulk goods during their steep upwardmovement between the two conveyor belts from escaping laterally consistsin guiding the conveyor belts through correspondingly arrangedmulti-part rollers so that the marginal portions of the belts will betrough-shaped while the concave sides of the belts face each other. Suchan arrangement, however, causes difliculties at the top station wherethe trough-shaped portions will have to be flattened out in order topermit passing of the belts over the deviating drums.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a steepconveyor installation and conveyor belts therefor, which will overcomethe above mentioned drawbacks.

It is another object of this invention to provide a steep conveyorinstallation and conveyor belts therefor, which will assure a tight sealat the marginal portions of the conveyor belts while permitting an easyand proper deviation of the conveyor belts at the top station of theconveyor installations.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear moreclearly from the following specification in connection with theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross section through a conveyor belt according to theinvention covered with a yieldable layer of foam material.

FIG. 2 represents a cross section through two conveyor belts of theinvention in a condition in which they move along the steep conveyingpath when not conveying any material. a

FIG. 3 is a cross section corresponding to that of FIG. 2 but with bulkmaterial being conveyed by and enclosed between the conveyor belts.

3,319,776 Patented May 16, 1967 FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representationof a steep conveyor installation with two conveyor belts according tothe present invention.

The objects outlined above have been realized in conformity with thepresent invention by the fact that the marginal portions of the conveyorbelts when not engaging each other form protruding ledges or stripswhich, when the belts move through the steep conveying path, are inpairs pressed against each other to such an extent that the jointbetween said marginal portions and the joint of the intermediate areasof said belts when no goods are being enclose-d thereby, are located insubstantially the same plane.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, each conveyor belt 1, 2 has onesurface thereof covered by a layer 3, 4 of foam material. This foammaterial is a high porous material of great elastic yieldability and mayconsist of foam rubber or foam synthetic material such asmicrocellular-polyurethan or moltoprene. The foam material may beconnected to the respective belt 1, 2 in any convenient manner forinstance by gluing or frothing.

The layers of foam material have their marginal areas provided withledges or strips 5 with contact or engaging surfaces 6. These strips 5will, when the belt and foam material are under no load, protrude beyondthe central portion 3a, 4a of the foam layer as shown in FIG.1.

When the belts 1, 2 with the foam layers 3, 4 enter the steep conveyingpath generally designated S (FIG. 4), the surfaces 6 of the marginalstrips 5 engage each other, and the foam material forming these stripsis compressed to such an extent that these strips no longer protrudebeyond the central portions 3a, 4a. This condition is shown in FIG. 2from which it will be seen that the joints 7 between those marginalportions 5 which engage each other are located substantially in the sameplane as the joint 8 along which the central portions 3a, 4a of the foamlayers engage each other when no bulk material is between said layers 3and 4.

In view of the considerable pressure at which the marginal foam materialstrips 5 are pressed against each other, a tight seal at the marginalareas of said layers 3, 4 will be obtained so that the bulk material 9received between the belts for conveying the material along a steep pathwill be completely encased and to such an extent that no bulk materialcan escape laterally through the joints 7. The said seal at the joints 7will be obtained without the necessity of providing intermeshing teethat said marginal areas or strips so that a disorder-free movement andoperation of the conveyor installation will be assured. When the beltsl, 2 pass about a deviating drum, for instance drum 10, at the upper endof the steep conveying paths, which may be called the top station, themarginal strips 5 will, due to the good stretchability of the foammaterial, cause no difficulties.

While passing through the steep conveying paths, the back side of thebelts 1, 2 is in engagement with rollers 20 by means of which the foammaterial layers 3, 4 are pressed against each other or against the bulkmaterial therebetween. These rollers 20 may be of a simple design andmay consist of straight supporting rollers so that the costs thereforwill be considerably less than when employing trough-shaped rollertrains.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by nomeans, limited to the particular belt construction shown in the drawingsbut also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appendedclaims. Thus, while the preceding description merely refers to conveyingmaterial upwardly along a steep path, the present invention is, ofcourse, also applicable to conveying installations in which the materialis conveyed downwardly along a steep path. The conveyor belts 1, 2

may consist of any suitable material as for instancemicro-ccllular-polyurethan or moltoprene.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a belt elevator with two endlessconveyor belts according to the present invention, showing rolls 20which in the ascendant path press the marginal areas of the layers 3, 4of foam material one against the other, according to FIG. 3.

What we claim is:

1. A conveyor installation with a steep conveying path, which includes:two endless conveyor belts having a conveying section thereof arrangedin fact-to-face relationship and extending over said steep conveyingpath, each of said belts comprising a first layer of strong loadsupporting fiexibe material and a second layer of soft elastic foammaterial connected to said first layer, the arrangement being such thatover said steep path said second layers of foam material face each otherand are adjacent to each other, each of said second layers having itslongitudinal marginal portions designed thicker than the intermediatesection between said marginal portions so that said longitudinalmarginal portions of each belt form strips protruding beyond saidintermediate section in a direction away from the first layer connectedthereto, and means arranged adjacent said first layers of said beltsover said steep path and operable to press said belts over said steeppath against each other so that the abutting surfaces of said marginalportions form a substantial seal against bulk material.

2. An installation according to claim 1, which includes roller meansarranged along said steep path and operable to compress said protrudingstrips to such an extent that their abutting surfaces are approximatelyfiush with the adjacent surfaces of said intermediate sections when thelatter are under no load.

'3. A conveyer installation according to claim 1, in which said secondlayer is of foam rubber.

4. A conveyer installation according to claim 1, in which said firstlayer is of rubber material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,484,810 10/1949Bacon et al. 198-165 X 2,836,285 5/1958 Muller 198165 2,896,773 7/1959Syce 198--201 3,036,944 5/1962 White et al. 198193 X FOREIGN PATENTS1,070,222 2/1954 France. 1,123,345 6/ 1956 France.

897,383 5/1962 Great Britain.

EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

M. L. AJEMAN, Assistant Examiner.

1. A CONVEYOR INSTALLATION WITH A STEEP CONVEYING PATH, WHICH INCLUDES:TWO ENDLESS CONVEYOR BELTS HAVING A CONVEYING SECTION THEREOF ARRANGEDIN FACT-TO-FACE RELATIONSHIP AND EXTENDING OVER SAID STEEP CONVEYINGPATH, EACH OF SAID BELTS COMPRISING A FIRST LAYER OF STRONG LOADSUPPORTING FLEXIBLE MATERIAL AND A SECOND LAYER OF SOFT ELASTIC FOAMMATERIAL CONNECTED TO SAID FIRST LAYER, THE ARRANGEMENT BEING SUCH THATOVER SAID STEEP PATH SAID SECOND LAYERS OF FOAM MATERIAL FACE EACH OTHERAND ARE ADJACENT TO EACH OTHER, EACH OF SAID SECOND LAYERS HAVING ITSLONGITUDINAL MARGINAL PORTIONS DESIGNED THICKER THAN THE INTERMEDIATESECTION BETWEEN SAID MARGINAL PORTIONS SO THAT SAID LONGITUDINALMARGINAL PORTIONS OF EACH BELT FORM STRIPS PROTRUDING BEYOND SAIDINTERMEDIATE SECTION IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM THE FIRST LAYER CONNECTEDTHERETO, AND MEANS ARRANGED ADJACENT SAID FIRST LAYERS OF SAID BELTSOVER SAID STEEP PATH AND OPERABLE TO PRESS SAID BELTS OVER SAID STEEPPATH AGAINST EACH OTHER SO THAT THE ABUTTING SURFACES OF SAID MARGINALPORTIONS FORM A SUBSTANTIAL SEAL AGAINST BULK MATERIAL.